In summation, type 'ok maps' into the search bar and google maps makes the visible area of the map available offline. I discovered this feature about 5 minutes ago, so I'm still kind of exploring what it means, but it could be very interesting.

I can't tell you how happy I was to stumble across this thread. To avoid being too long-winded, let's just say that a couple months ago I reached my breaking point with my Garmin Zumo 550. So yesterday I began researching the possibility of using my iPhone, but was discouraged to learn that I couldn't create and upload ad hoc routes. I even called Navigon / Garmin to confirm this. It can be done on the actual GPS devices of course, but not with the smartphone app ... at least according to them!

I'm still a bit leery of the whole 25-waypoint-limit since the most critical on-bike use of the GPS comes on long trips. I know some of my previous routes have had dozens of waypoints to help ensure the GPS kept us on backroads and off the slab, but I suppose it may be feasible to simply split it up when necessary. Still weighing the pros and cons here so for those who have used this approach for awhile now, I'd love to hear more feedback ... good or bad! Thanks again for the post!

Still weighing the pros and cons here so for those who have used this approach for awhile now, I'd love to hear more feedback ... good or bad! Thanks again for the post!

So far the 25 waypoint thing hasn't been that much of a problem for me. Remember in both the route planning tool and Navigon you can set the routing to avoid highways at all cost, and that helps it to stick to the back roads that you want.

The problem I have is with Navigon, it's just very frustrating to use. It's hard to zoom in and out and get a feel for what's around you, thae maps are just hard to read and work with in general. I was out in the middle of the state the other day, a little bit lost because the battery was dying on me, and I couldn't even determine what city I was in by looking at the map.

Unfortunately right now Navigon is the only option for voice turn-by-turn that I've found so I just work around the little problems. I tried the same dropbox trick with Copilot the other day and it doesn't work, even though ITN Converter has the ability to save to a copilot extension.

Navigon, for JUST routing is fine. But don't expect to use it's maps for any kind of discovery. Here are some screenshots of similiar zooms on Apple Maps and Navigon.

If I have a route that requires more than 25 waypoints, I just break it up into separate route files. Not a big deal.

I also agree with his points in regards to Navigon. I usually have to zoom in so far before the minor roads appear and then I lose reference to other roads. The other thing that gets me about Nagivon is that it shuts down when my iphone battery is like 25% without an audible warning. It sends up a banner on the screen but I use my iphone via BT. The phone is usually in a pocket or tank bag so I don't see the banner. This has caused me to go miles off course before realizing Navigon is no longer running. Now I usually plug my phone in whenever I'm using navigation.

Considering the several cons of this setup, it is still better than having a separate GPS unit. At least for my purposes. I actually own a dedicated GPS but I prefer to not have to mount it and plug it in in addition to my phone.

Remember in both the route planning tool and Navigon you can set the routing to avoid highways at all cost, and that helps it to stick to the back roads that you want.

That's an excellent point and may indeed reduce the number way points I'd need to use. The Garmin would try to hop on a highway any chance it got so that was a constant battle when routing near cities or just when the road I wanted to take paralleled a highway.

Also thanks to both of you for pointing out the lack-luster performance of the app when attempting to zoom and scroll for discovery. Thankfully for my purposes I don't *think* that will be too big an issue. At the very least it shouldn't be much of a step backward because the Zumo pretty much sucked in this category as well. Most of the time the only "discovery" I'm doing is a POI search for food or fuel ... not the scrolly kind.

I really appreciate the feedback! Given that I can try this for around $30, I think I may do it. I'll try and remember to come back after a bit and contribute my $.02 after some use as well.

Hi All
Great post, been pulling my hair out trying to figure this out...
Mac user also, and I have found another aid to make the job easier...

I used Tourstart to construct my route:
Add a start point, then your end point, a way point for the midway section, and inbetween use drag points to keep the route on the roads you want to use.
Then dowload the route as a .gpx
Open in the converter as stated (by Damnitdan) in a previous post here to change file ext name, and save it to dropbox.
Open dropbox on your phone, open the file, tap the link and there you go, the exact route as plotted on Tourstart.
Personally I find Tourstart much better than googlemaps, far more userfriendly and a lot quicker..And it has the benefit of making your routes public or private, so if you want to share an awesome route then you can, and by the way it's FREE!

I've used Tourstart also and I like it. They have several 'export' options and I actually contacted the developer to see if they would add the ability to export to the .target format but didn't get anywhere with it. You might want to contact them also, maybe if they hear from enough people they would do it.

SO I have found Google Maps to be pretty good for on road stuff. I also have MotionXGPS and You Need A Map on my iPhone 4s. How do I get it to function as a GPS without a cell signal.

I know I am way behind the tech curve, but where am I going wrong.

The GPS functionality of your phone is separate from the cell service function. They should operate independent of each other.

When you say 'how do I get it to function'... have you tried it? Are you getting a specific error message? Or are you just asking in general?

The one thing that the cell service is required for is the downloading of maps. Navigon is not affected by this because it downloads it's maps and stores them on your phone.

Google maps and Apple maps do not, although I believe Google has just released the ability to do it as an option. I haven't played with it but I did see they were making it available. MotionXGPS also has the option to download sections of a map.

Hi All
Great post, been pulling my hair out trying to figure this out...
Mac user also, and I have found another aid to make the job easier...

I used Tourstart to construct my route:
Add a start point, then your end point, a way point for the midway section, and inbetween use drag points to keep the route on the roads you want to use.
Then dowload the route as a .gpx
Open in the converter as stated (by Damnitdan) in a previous post here to change file ext name, and save it to dropbox.
Open dropbox on your phone, open the file, tap the link and there you go, the exact route as plotted on Tourstart.
Personally I find Tourstart much better than googlemaps, far more userfriendly and a lot quicker..And it has the benefit of making your routes public or private, so if you want to share an awesome route then you can, and by the way it's FREE!

See what you all think, give it a go, it takes minutes that way.

I couldn't get it to work. I think the problem is that I'm unclear on what file ext I'm supposed to change the .gpx file to, and how I do that.

I've used Tourstart also and I like it. They have several 'export' options and I actually contacted the developer to see if they would add the ability to export to the .target format but didn't get anywhere with it. You might want to contact them also, maybe if they hear from enough people they would do it.

So I'm following along and using some of the Mac friendly info posted by DammitDan but for the life of me I can't figure out how to use Tourstart.

Can you type in the address of the start point and hit enter? or do I need to find it on the map and click. I'm more then happy with google at this point but figure I might as well give it a go.

Can you type in the address of the start point and hit enter? or do I need to find it on the map and click. I'm more then happy with google at this point but figure I might as well give it a go.

Yea Tourstart takes a little fiddling with. The trick is to make sure you click through to the "Tours" | "Create a tour" tabs. For some reason the main page lets you start adding points, but to create a tour you have to be on the Create a tour page. From there you just click the map and a little dialog box pops up asking if you want to 'Set start point' and there you go.

I have been riding with GPS for years but the most deterring thing about them and smartphone apps, are that they route via fastest or shortest route from A to B unless you provide via points which dull the display of the map itself with various icons.

I have just tried TourStart and although just a bit quirky at times, it provides most of what I need with the exception of being able to upload POI sets and tracks in gpx format. The smartphone app is one of the better I've tried and inexpensive (free) too. Voice Navigation only adds $15/year.

I create most of my favorite motorcycling roads with Basecamp or Google Earth as tracks and then color code them based on type. I then use Mapwel to create an .img file (gmapsupp.img) and upload this to my Garmin GPS as an overlay. Now while riding I can view these great roads and follow the ones I choose. If I want to go to a particular place I just set it as a destination then add via points along these great roads to force Garmin to route me that way. This also allows me to keep those lesser known roads at a higher zoom level so I can see them without zooming way in and losing sight of where I actually am.

View of a built in Garmin GPS on a 2010 Goldwing

I can also create alerts to inform me when I am near something of interest by creating a TourGuide file for the different types of POI. Campgrounds, waterfalls, scenic overlooks. This alerts do not function (yet) on the Honda Navi unit but work well with other Garmins.

I do like the idea on Smartphone apps but they all seem to lack something, mostly uploading gpx files and/or voice navigation. Not to mention most need a cell signal which are hard to come by in the Smoky Mountains.